Puffing Billy

It's fun for the children

To ride in the train,

Hear the hissing and snorting

Of steam once again.

Not only the children -

There's always a part

For grannies and grandpas

Still young at heart.

Puffing Billy is a genuine relic of our more leisurely days. It is an historic steam train still running regularly in the mountain district not too far from where I live, and was built to serve at the turn of the century. The Railway is the sole survivor of four experimental lines used to develop rural areas in the early 1900's.


Now days, Puffing Billy is a major tourist attraction and its operation depends on hundreds of dedicated volunteers. This operating museum runs every day of the year, except Christmas day, and takes families and friends on a 24.5 km sentimental journey. One can simply sit back with the kids and enjoy the mountain scenery and panoramic views which pass by the carriage window.


Lakeside, the intermediate terminus of the railway, is inside the beautiful Emerald Lake Park. Here one may stop over for a few pleasant hours bushwalking, swimming or just relaxing in the peaceful country setting.

My children loved riding on Puffing Billy when they were little, and the smell of the old steam train always took me back to my own childhood. I hope you enjoyed your little train trip down memory lane with me today.
Hugs,
X

Inspired

Well, even if I'm not,  it appears our Coles supermarket is.

I have managed to collect these items so far. Is anyone else in Australia collecting these tiny versions of their local grocery shop?

When I first saw the advertising for these mini items, I thought "Great, just what we needed for our dolls". However, they are definitely not to scale.

Really! Have you ever seen a tube of toothpaste as big as a pack of baby diapers?

I can see I will need to separate them for use with different size dolls, but in saying that, they do look okay together in a shopping trolley.

And luckily for me, I also have two sizes of trollies to cope with the size variances. :)

Hope your week is off to a wonderful start and you're feeling inspired. :)
Hugs,

X